Exasperating Exams
by I-Confuse-Everyone
Summary: Outtake from my 'A Levels' series. Rose is doing her A Levels and she gets a little stressed. Cue the Doctor. Two parter.
1. Revision Stress

**Exasperating Exams**

_**Outtake from the A-Level series but you don't need to have read it to understand- the basic plot line is that Rose does her A-Levels after the Doctor leaves her behind on Earth and they start having a relationship when he returns. This is out of 'A-Levels and Aliens' when Rose is doing her A-Levels. Like me. And she gets a bit stressed out. Like Me. Enjoy!**_

_**Dedicated to everyone who is taking exams this exam season or ever has. Which is probably all of us. **_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me**_

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The TARDIS was very quiet.

The Doctor and Jack were creeping around, going about their business whilst down the corridor, in the bedroom that she shared with the Doctor; Rose Tyler sat at the desk that the TARDIS had kindly placed in there, attempting to revise for her A-Levels. It was a long, dull and boring job and Rose wasn't enjoying it at all. Not one tiny bit.

The Doctor looked in on her roughly about every hour in between fiddling with bits of the TARDIS and challenging Jack to arm wrestles. They were both bored without Rose in the middle of things and longed for her exams to be over, almost as much as Rose did. They were feeling very sorry for her as the stress was taking its toll and she had begun to look tired and withdrawn several days ago but with another three or four exams to go, the end wasn't in sight yet.

Pulling himself out from underneath the console, the Doctor checked his watch and saw that it had been nearly an hour since he'd last poked his head around the door and received a tired and stressed smile back from his angel. Feeling rather thirsty, he decided to make them both a well deserved cup of tea- and Jack too, if he could find him.

Ten minutes later, the Doctor was carefully balancing two cups of tea and a plate of biscuits on a tray that he swore he hadn't seen for donkey's years, and attempted to open the bedroom door. Once he finally got it, he stepped inside and nearly dropped the tray at the sight in front of him. Rose was sitting at her desk with her head in her arms and her shoulders were shaking slightly.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked, putting down the tray and crouching down next to her, "What's wrong?"

She mumbled something incomprehensible and shifted her head slightly, letting out a muffled sniff.

"Rose?" the Doctor repeated, gently stroking her back in what he hoped was a soothing way.

She turned her face slightly towards him, blinking away the tears that blurred her vision slightly. "I'm gonna fail," she whispered, sadly, "I can't take this anymore. I can't do it,"

"Yes, you can," the Doctor told her,

"I can't," she insisted, "The stupid exam's tomorrow an' I'm trying to remember all the facts but it's just not going in anymore an' I'm not gonna get the syllabus finished an' there's bound to be a question on the stuff I don't know 'cause the exam board's mean like that an'…."

She ceased her rambling when the Doctor picked her up and set her on the desk so they were facing one another at eye level.

"You can do it," the Doctor said calmly, holding her hands in his, "And do you know why I know that?"

Rose shook her head, trying to swallow the sobs that kept on wanting to erupt out of her,

"Because," replied the Doctor, "_You_ are Rose Tyler, my companion and lover and don't forget I only take the best. I know you probably better than anybody else in the universe does and I know that if you put your mind to it, you will succeed because that's what you do,"

"It's just so _hard_," Rose whimpered, "I feel like my brain can't take anymore an' I'm all tense an' I need a massage an' I wish I'd never decided to take my bloody A-Levels!"

Another couple of tears spilled down her cheeks which the Doctor hastily wiped away with his thumbs. "You need to take a break, my angel. You've been hard at it all afternoon and even a brain as superior as mine can't take that. C'mon, take a break, drink your tea and have a biccy and _smile_, OK?"

Rose attempted a watery smile before clambering off the desk and putting her arms around his waist, wanting a cuddle. He immediately wrapped her up in a hug, pressing kisses to her hair and rocking her gently from side to side. Rose closed her eyes from where her face was pressed into his collar and inhaled deeply. She didn't know how he did it but everything always seemed better when he was around. She thought it was like a sort of social support… social support that she still had to learn for her Psychology exam…

"You're tensing up again," the Doctor commented, feeling her growing rigid in his arms, "Stop thinking about it!"

"Can't help it," Rose mumbled, "It's this room. I think it was a mistake to revise in my room 'cause of all the environmental cues…" She trailed off, a disgusted look on her face. "Oh great, now I'm using Psychology in conversations."

The Doctor smiled. "Let's go to the control room then. And I'm sure if you ask the TARDIS nicely then she'll provide you with a study room,"

"But my History revision…" Rose said, looking back at the pink folder on her desk, "I need to do it…."

"Bring it then," said her lover, with a mock sigh, "But you are having a break first!"

Rose beamed at him and followed him out of the room, her earlier misery forgotten. Life was so much better when you had a Doctor around.

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received**_


	2. Bad Exam

_**OK, so this one hit me on Monday night so I decided to write it yesterday instead of revising. Good news, my exams finished today (hoaray!) so I'm back in business. Expect a couple of one shots in the coming weeks and then a chapter 9/Rose and Jack story soon after. Hope you enjoy and many thanks for the reviews for part one.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me**_

* * *

"It'll be OK. You'll have done better than you think you have, trust me."

Rose nodded and sent a small smile at Matt. They were standing in the courtyard at college outside of the sports hall, having just come out of their last ever Law exam. It hadn't gone well for Rose however. Well, she thought she'd done justice to the first question but had completely messed up the second. All in all, Rose thought she'd just kissed goodbye to any chance of her getting an A in Law. Now, all she wanted to do was get home as fast as possible and cry on her bed.

"I'll see you soon," Matt continued, glancing at his watch, "Don't worry about it, OK?"

Rose nodded numbly and returned his hug before he quickly walked away. She sighed heavily as the first few drops of the rain that had been threatening all day began to fall. Swallowing the urge to cry, she set off home, walking as quickly as possible, partly to avoid the rain and partly because she wasn't sure she could hold the floodgates back any longer.

* * *

The heavens had really opened by the time Rose reached the TARDIS and, as a result, she was drenched. She fumbled with her key, cursing as it slipped out of her wet hand before finally getting inside.

"Oh, look what the cat dragged in," commented a cheerful voice.

Rose looked up to see Jack grinning at her across the control room, "Careful you don't flood the TARDIS, Rose."

She smiled weakly in reply before silently crossing the grating and disappearing down the corridor to the interior of the time ship. The Doctor looked after her from his position under the console, with one eyebrow raised. Something was wrong. She always said at least hello before disappearing off to put away her college bag. He knew she'd had an exam today that she'd completely stressed over… maybe she was in need of some good old TLC.

Meanwhile, Rose had entered her bedroom, firmly closing the door after herself and collapsed onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow that smelt of the Doctor. Only then did she let the tears come, instantly soaking the pillow that was already damp from the raindrops falling off her wet hair. _It wasn't fair. She'd tried so hard…_

A gentle knock at the door interrupted her misery.

"Rose, sweetheart, are you OK?" called the Doctor through the door, not wanting to go in if she was in need of some privacy,

"Yeah," Rose replied quietly, standing up and making her way into the ensuite bathroom. She swallowed another sob as her thoughts returned to the afternoon's paper,

"Can I come in?" asked the Doctor, frowning as he heard her muffled sob,

"Alright," she replied, scrubbing frantically at her face with a cold flannel. No matter how much she loved the Doctor and the amount of times he'd seen her at her lowest, she still didn't like looking weak in front of him. She'd already cried once this exam period in front of him and wasn't in a hurry to do it again.

"You're soaking."

The Doctor's brief statement made Rose jump. She hadn't heard him enter the room.

"Yeah, well," she shrugged, taking a deep breath as another sob threatened to erupt, "It's raining."

The Doctor nodded, taking in her tense shoulders and blotchy face. He knew she'd been crying for some reason and was attempting to stop herself now in front of him. He wished she wouldn't. It was perfectly fine for her to break down in front of him. It gave him an extra excuse to cuddle her after all.

"Come on," he said, walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders, "Get in the shower. You need to get warmed up or you'll catch a cold and you don't want _that_ right now."

Rose nodded, wiping her hand over her cheeks, hoping he'd think she was just clearing the rain water off. The Doctor inched past her and set their power shower going in the corner of the large bathroom. Meanwhile, Rose started stripping her damp clothes off and throwing them in the basket for collection later.

"There you go," the Doctor said, withdrawing his hand from the spray after he was sure that the temperature of the water was perfect. He helped her step into the warm mist before closing the door and perching on the toilet (after putting the lid down, of course).

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked, raising his voice slightly to be heard above the noise of the water.

Rose froze in the shower, her back towards him. "N…nothing's wrong,"

"If you say so," replied the Doctor, leaning backwards against the tank, "But you know you can always talk to me. If, oh I don't know, something went wrong this afternoon in your exam and it made you upset, we can discuss it. But if like you say there's nothing wrong, I'll just assume those tears are really rain drops."

There was a silence in the bathroom for a moment, except for the pattering of the shower hitting the floor.

"Have you been speaking to Matt?" Rose eventually asked, wondering for a split second if somehow one of her best friends had contacted Jack or the Doctor before she'd gotten home,

"Nope," the Doctor replied, twisting around to face her, "I can just read you like a book. It doesn't take a genius. Or…" he said slowly, "Maybe it does." He grinned suddenly and despite herself, Rose let out a small giggle,

"Was that a giggle?" the Doctor asked, standing up and crossing over to the shower,

"No," Rose replied, biting her lip,

"That was a giggle," he stated, opening the shower door and leaning against it, "I distinctly heard a giggle coming from you."

Rose tipped her head to one side, a small smile on her lips despite her best efforts, "You must be hearing things,"

"Oh no," the Doctor said, "Time Lords don't hear things. But I do know that I'm not hearing a giggle right now and I really want to…" Suddenly he leapt into the shower, fully dressed and began to tickle his companion, making her squeal and then erupt into laughter. "That's more like it!" he declared, satisfied.

Rose leant against him as her ribs ached. "You're all wet now," she said, feeling the damp fabric of his suit,

"So we're evens," the Doctor replied, tucking his arms around her and kissing her head. They stayed in that position for a few moments longer, breathing slowly together before Rose lifted her face to his. "I think I'm warmed up now," she mumbled,

"Good," the Doctor replied, stepping out of the shower and pulling a warm towel from the rack. He then turned back to her and wrapped the enormous piece of material around his Rose before fetching a smaller one that she began to wrap her hair in. In the meantime, the Doctor peeled off his sodden jacket and shirt and quickly dried himself.

"It's not fair."

The Doctor turned to see Rose had taken his seat on the toilet and was frowning heavily,

"What's not fair?" he questioned,

"That I do my best an' try so hard and then there's a really stupid question set in the exam which I can't do 'cause it doesn't make sense," Rose muttered,

"Is that what was making you upset?" asked the Doctor, delicately,

"Yeah," Rose admitted, beginning to look down again. "Doctor," she choked, her eyes filling with tears, "I think I've just lost my chance of getting an A in Law."

The Doctor acted immediately. He pulled her up before wrapping her form in a big hug. "Hey now," he whispered softly, "No tears."

Rose pressed her face into his shoulder trying to stop her sobs that were shaking her whole body. She couldn't believe how disappointed she felt. It was such a stupid system- she has _one_ bad exam and her score slips a whole grade. Sure she didn't need her final grades to get her into university like so many of her friends and peers at college, but it was just a matter of pride. She wanted to show the world that she _was_ clever; that she _did_ have a brain. After dropping out of school with only a handful of GCSEs, Rose really wanted to prove herself. The Doctor had shown her that she was clever and she wanted everyone to know that. But now, just 'cause of one _stupid_ exam, she might have blown that.

"Rose, my angel, don't be silly," the Doctor said, after she'd told him this in-between desperate sobs, "Just because you've had a bad exam doesn't mean everyone's gonna think you're stupid 'cause you're not. I wouldn't have invited you to travel with me once let alone twice if I didn't think you were smart." He pressed a kiss to her forehead before continuing, "What do you think went wrong exactly?"

Rose let out a miserable sigh. "It was the second question," she answered, brushing the fresh tears off her cheeks, "I couldn't work out what it was about an' afterwards, everyone else said it was one thing but I thought it was that but mainly somethin' else so I think I've just lost loads of marks for that question, which is half the paper,"

"So, you put some information about whatever everyone else thought it was in your answer?"

"Yeah, but not enough." Rose sounded completely and utterly defeated; something which the Doctor hated,

"How do you know that?" he challenged, not unkindly, "You never know, you may have collected enough marks to get over the A boundary. We worked it out after your January exam results, didn't we? You only needed so many marks in this exam to get an A,"

"I don't know," Rose said, feeling a sudden pulse of hope inside her despite her unhappiness at having mucked up the paper, "I hope I did well enough but I'm not gonna know for months. Stupid A-Level results take so long!"

The Doctor chuckled. "It won't be as long for you as it will be for your friends," he said, with a smile.

Rose's face brightened. "Are we still going to Barcelona?"

"I remember a rather violent pillow fight last October. I wouldn't dare say no," the Doctor grinned, "Right, c'mon you, let's get dressed and grab something to eat. Have you got to do any revision tonight?"

"I'm taking the night off," Rose said, decisively, "I'm sick of revision so I'm all yours. Can we go out somewhere?"

"Anything you want," the Doctor replied, cupping her cheek and kissing her gently. He suddenly thought that their first anniversary was coming up in just under a week. He'd have to start thinking where he was going to take the love of his life. Because that's exactly what Rose was.

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_**Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received**_


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